Xtend-Life's Multi Xtra formula and DRI levels

by Lydia
(USA)

As I was researching multi-vitamin supplements I came across your website. While it is helpful I have a question. I have looked at Xtend-Life's multi vitamin/mineral supplement 'Multi-Xtra' & found some significant differences in the ingredient amounts included in the product vs the DRI's I found. I am female in the 31-50 category. Do you have any thoughts?


Also, do you know if Xtend-Life conducts animal testing on ANY of its products?


Brett's Answer:

Hey Lydia, I'm very sorry for the delay in answering your question. I have been swamped with questions lately. Catching up somewhat now.

Firstly, RDA's and DRI's differ worldwide and are only a governmental, not biological, guideline to what governments think their people in their country should be getting daily.

This is a very vague guideline and only pertains to the individual nutrients if they are used on their own. There are no guidelines for when ingredients are used in formulation/combination.

The 'Multi Xtra' multi vitamin/mineral supplement from the Xtend-Life company, (as is the case for their flagship 'multi nutrient' health supplement 'Total Balance' - the supplement my entire family and I use), contains very precise milligram doses per ingredient to ensure that each one optimizes all the others for optimum long term result. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need a high dose of each, and indeed this can be detrimental to health in the long-term. Many consumers do not understand this point (because the supplement companies don't want them to!!)

Only highly qualified bio-scientists and chemists with BOTH a natural formula AND pharmaceutical background can understand how to formula this way to achieve the greatest efficacy. They understand how each ingredient interacts with other ingredients and how they react at the molecular level in the body.

This is a highly specialized science.

It is ultimately one of the key factors which separates one nutritional supplement from another regardless of whether it is a basic level multi vitamin/mineral formula like 'Multi Xtra' or a complex 'multi nutrient' health supplement like 'Total Balance'.

Of course consumers have no way to differentiate to any effective degree between the best supplement formulas and weak ineffective ones. Since there is so much overlap in the ingredient names from one supplement company's product(s) to the next, consumers tend to assume they are all the same.

The key as I mentioned above is in the exact dose amounts and in the combination of ingredients. Besides efficacy, this also determines the value for money angle - something which consumers have no expertise to judge.

You need to keep in mind that vitamins and minerals are the cheapest ingredients in supplements. In some cases the cheap ingredients (like Vitamin C - ascorbic acid) are up to 80 times cheaper than other highly effective ingredients (like L-Glutathione and certain phytonutrients).

You really have to watch out for multi vitamin and mineral formulas containing high doses of the cheap ingredients (magnesium and calcium are other prime examples). The companies fill their tablets up with these cheap ingredient to simply increase bottom line profitability.

The incorrectness (for the majority of people) of a number of the DRI guidelines simply adds fuel to the fire and ends up with consumers getting extremely poor value for money in the supplements they purchase. 'Ripped Off' would for a applicable label in relation to MANY of the nutritional health supplement formulas out there!

Remember too Lydia that basic level nutritional health / vitamin supplements are intended as a specific dietary top-up only to work together with diet. This is the case with 'Multi Xtra'. It is designed to 'top up' what may be missing from the diet, so you should be getting the remainder of what you need from a healthy diet.

This is not the case with a complex 'multi nutrient' formula like 'Total Balance' - there is a galaxy of difference!

Total Balance is best described as a specialty supplement for very health conscious people who want superior nutritional support to protect the health of their DNA, normalize their aging process and avoid all those 21st century influenced (and preventable) degenerative diseases - and of course at the most basic level to top up any borderline nutrient deficiencies which may be present.

Total Balance has the most advanced anti aging nutrients which address all five causes of aging - Excessive Free Radical Damage, Glycation, Abnormal Methylation, chronic Inflammation and DNA degeneration

There is no other health supplement currently available which includes all the specialized anti aging ingredients necessary to undertake the complex and multi faceted task of slowing down and normalizing the aging process (by targeting all five fundamental causes of aging!!).

This is key to addressing premature aging which is pervasive nowadays due to the effects of modern 21st century living.

Lydia, I contacted the chairman of Xtend-Life, Mr Warren Matthews, and he confirmed (quite categorically actually) that no animal testing is involved with any of their products, including their skin care range.


Good Health Always